Thermoplastic label dispenser



March 5, 1940 E. l.. KLLANDER 2,192,265

THERMOPLASTIC LABEL DISPENSER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 28, 1938 d@ ,5. WL@ en A MW n2, I@ m, r EW March 5, 1940.

E. L. KALLANDER THERMOPLASTIC LABEL DISPENSER Filed Sept. 28. 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 5, 1940 E. l.. KALLANDER l y THERMOPLASTIC LABEL DISPENSER 5 sheets-sheet :s

Filed Sept. 28, 1938 afm Zz verz for;

March 5, 1940. E. l.. KALLANDER THERMOPLASTIC LABEL DISPENSER Filed sept. 28, 1938 5 sheets-sheet 4 March 5, 1940. E. L, KALLANDER THERMOPLASTIC LABEL DISPENSER Filed sept. 28, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 4.wwvvlvvvurvvvvvvvwvvvvvvm4 Patented Mar. 5, 1940 PATENT OFFICE THERMOPLASTIC LABEL DISPENSER Ernest L. Kallander, Framingham, Mass., as-

signor to Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingham, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 28, 1938, Serial No. 232,165

5 Claims.

Objects of the present invention are to provide a label dispensing machine which receives labels in dry form and delivers them in tacky form, which makes the labels tacky without applying liquid thereto, which softens the label coating with heat, which does not tend to become gummed, which is more. reliable and durable in use, which does not require frequent cleaning, and which is generally superior to label dispensers of the prior art.

According to this invention the dispenser successively transfers the labels along a predetermined path from a feed station 'to a delivery station and, at a suitable location along said path, heats the labels sufficiently to render their thermoplastic coatings adhesive. The stations may be spaced a considerable distance or they may be located side by side. In any event they are preferably attended by a single operator. At the feed station a hopper or other means is provided to receive a quantity of labels. When employing a hopper the labels are preferably stacked in the hopper with their adhesive surfaces facing upwardly and are removed from the bottom by sliding the bottom label from the stack with a belt or other carrier having a rubber-like surface frctionally engaging the lower surface of the fto retard heat radiation. At the delivery station the labels may be removed from the belt in any suitable marmer for application to parcels or other articles. I

While the labels may be coated with any suitable thermoplastic adhesive they are preferably coated with an adhesive of the type which re-` mains tacky for a considerable time after the labels leave the source of heat.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the delivery station:

Fig. 1b is a plan view of the feed station;

Fig. 2 is a. side elevation of the delivery station;

Fig. 2b is a side'elevation of the feed station;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1*;

feeding over rollers 2 and 3 carried by shafts 4 and 5 journaled in the frame members 6 and 1. Pivoted on the s'haft 5 is a lever 8 carrying a pawl 9 engageable with a ratchet wheel I0 fast t0 the shaft 5, whereby the roller 3 maybe rotated in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 2a) by movement of the lever. The movement of the lever is controlled by a stop II and a spring I2. Retrograde movement of the belt is prevented by a stop I3 pivotally mounted at I4 and having a lower edge I5 resting on the inner side of the belt at an oblique angle.

The upper stretch of the belt I slides over a table I6 in which is mounted an electric heating coil I1 for heating the table (Figs. 4 and 5). The belt I is preferably formed of wire screening or other reticulated metal to permit the heat to pass through the belt, by radiation, connection and conduction, to the labels carried on the belt with their coated sides upper most. A hood I8 is mounted over the belt to restrain the escape of heat. Current is supplied to the electric heater through the cord I9 connected to the terminal block 2U.

The apparatus at the feed station comprises an endless belt 2| trained over a large roller 22, a small roller 23 and a tension roller 24 pivoted Iat 25 and controlled by spring 26. The roller 22 is mounted on the shaft 21. Shaft 21 is interconnected with shaft 4 through a sprocket chain 28 and sprocket wheels 29 and 30, and shaft 4 is interconnected with shaft 5 through a sprocket chain l3| and sprocket wheels 32 and 33. Thus rotation of the shaft 5 by the handle 8 also rotates shafts 4 and 21. The sprocket ratio between shafts 4 and 21 is such as to drive the belt 2l somewhat slower than the belt I, whereby labels dropped upon the belt I from the overhanging portion of the belt 2| will be spaced apart somewhat farther on belt I than on belt 2l. Thus even though the labels are fed to the belt 2| in close succession they are spaced apart on the belt 2l, thereby giving the operator at the delivery station a better opportunity of picking them up from the belt I.

The particular `mechanism illustrated in the drawings for delivering the labels to the belt 2l comprises adjustable guides 4'I for confining a stack of labels L with the bottom label of the stack resting on the upper stretch of the belt 2| which slides over a table 42. The forward side 0f the stack of labels is pressed down by an L- shaped weight 43. Immediately in front of the stack of labels is a felt pad 44 fast to the bottom of a wooden block 45 which carries a weight 46, the rear edge of the pad is curved to facilitate the passage of the lowermost label While restraining the superposed labels. The weights 43 and 46 are guided in their up and down movements by side guides 41 and rollers 48, 49 and 50.

The labels L are stacked upsidedown in a. sloping stack as shown in Figs. 1b, 2b and 4. The belt ZI is preferably formed of rubber or other material which tends to drag the lowermost label from the bottom of the stack, the pad 44 serving to restrain the superposed labels. 'I'hus the labels are fed successively to the belt I and, owing to the fact that the belt I is traveling faster than the belt 2|, the labels are deposited in spaced relationship on the belt I as illustrated in Fig. 4. As the labels are carried over the heating coil I'I the thermo-plastic coating on their upper sides is softened so that, when they reach the delivery station, they may be picked up and aixed in any suitable manner.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of ,illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for dispensing thermoplastic labels and the like having a feed station and a delivery station, means at the feed station for holding a quantity of labels, means for successively feeding labels along a predetermined path from the feed station to the delivery station, means adjacent said path for heating the labels sufficiently to render them adhesive, and means including a manual member for intermittently actuating said feeding means a distance sufficient to deliver one label to the delivery station each time the member is operated.

2. Apparatus for dispensing thermoplastic 1abels and the like having a feed station and a delivery station, a conveyor for successively transferring labels from the feed station to the delivery station, means at the feed .station for automatically supplying to said conveyor labels with their gummed sides facing upwardly, mechanism kinematically interconnecting said means and conveyor to cause them to operate in synchronism, means associated with the conveyor for heating the labels sufliciently to render them adhesive, and means including a manual member for causing said mechanisml to operate intermittently each time the member is operated.

3. Apparatus for dispensing thermoplastic labels and the like having a feed station and a delivery station, means at the feed station for holding a quantity of labels, means for successively feeding labels inspaced relationship along a predetermined path from said first means to the delivery station, means adjacent said path i for heating the labels sufciently to render' them' adhesive, and means including a manual member for intermittently actuating said feeding means a distance sufficient to deliver one label to the delivery'station each time the member is.

operated.

4. Apparatus for dispensing thermoplastic labels and the like having a feed station and a delivery station, a conveyor for successively transferring labels from the feed station to the deliv- 5. Apparatus for dispensing thermoplastic la bels and the like having a feed station and a delivery station, a conveyor for successively transferring labels from the feed station to the delivery station, a feeder at the feed station for automatically supplying labels to said conveyor, means kinematically interconnecting the conveyor and feeder to drive the conveyor faster than the feeder so that the labels are spaced apart on the conveyor, means associated with the conveyor for heating the labels sufficiently to make them adhesive, and means including a manual control member for causing said kinematic means to operate intermittently. ERNEST L. KALLANDER. 

